


Juniper and Lamplight

by sorrywhatever



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Tommy Merlyn is Alive, flommy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 12:31:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3610194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorrywhatever/pseuds/sorrywhatever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy and Felicity are on a mission in Santa Fe for Oliver and the team. They’ve been doing this dance for a long time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Juniper and Lamplight

**Author's Note:**

> I just love Tommy Merlyn so much, I can't stop formulating new stories to put him into. This is just a one shot, an attempt to maybe write a bit of a plot and stretch something to longer than 2000 words. “Juniper and Lamplight” jumped out at me from the lyrics of the song "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" by Simon and Garfunkel. Basically the entire plot of this story came from those two words.

Running along the sidewalk in front of the Saint Francis Cathedral, Tommy reached back and grabbed Felicity’s hand. A soft rain had begun falling, and the haze it created around the streetlights made him feel like they were stopped in time. Like the rest of the world had ceased to exist for him except for this girl right in front of him. 

He slowed down, gathering her in his arms and brushing an errant curl out of her face. Her cheeks were flushed from laughing and running and he felt an impossible joy burst out of his chest. 

He’d read _The Unbearable Lightness of Being_ by Milan Kundera in college (truth be told, he’d read it more than once and he NEVER does that) but though the book had made an impression, he’d never really experienced that sensation that the book talks about. That lightness that suddenly threatened to both crush him and set him free. But, god, with Felicity here and now? He felt it. And it was invigorating and terrifying in equal measure. 

They’d come to Santa Fe on a mission for Oliver and the team. He’d long ago made his peace with what Oliver and Felicity did, and he liked to think that he was even a valued member of the team sometimes. He didn’t have fighting skills like Oliver or computer skills like Felicity, but he was smart and could charm his way in and out of just about any situation.

They’d had to sneak into a wedding reception at the Peyton Wright Gallery, Tommy in a tux and Felicity in a gorgeous vintage-looking burgundy dress. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders in waves, and Tommy had to really fight to dial down the flirting. They’d been dancing around each other for a long time, but because he’d needed time to get over Laurel after she’d moved to San Francisco and he knew Felicity had complicated feelings about Oliver, they’d both held back. Friends, sure. They were friends. But for the last few months it had felt like more. An extra spark behind their laughter, and, sure, there was definitely flirtation. But Tommy didn’t want to press his luck with her. Not when he felt like he was on the precipice of something so big.

Felicity had figured out a way into the event and Tommy had quickly charmed enough people that they looked like they actually knew people there and belonged. They were laughing along with another couple they’d just met when Felicity spotted the woman who had the information they were after. She quickly excused herself from the group and walked up the hall, keeping the woman in her sights until she disappeared into a room in the back. Felicity stood by the restroom door, pretending she was checking her phone while waiting for someone in the bathroom. She was able to trace the signal coming from the room and patch herself into the phone call the woman was making. 

“Ok, Victor,” she heard the woman say over connection. Felicity pressed her ear tightly to her phone, hoping the slightly broken connection held out long enough for her to get the information she needed. 

The response was muffled, but she could hear the woman’s voice clearly enough. “Got it. Pick up behind the bar in back right at 10. It’ll be in the usual spot.”

Felicity quickly severed the connection, ducking into the bathroom while sneaking a look at the time. 9:45. With a quick check to make sure her tablet was secure in her envelope clutch, she rushed out to grab Tommy away from his new friends, walking on tip toes to whisper her new intel into his ear as and they made their way outside. 

Twinkle lights lit up the trees, and a bright harvest moon hung in the sky. The yard was filled with southwestern sculptures which lent an air of grandeur to the outdoor space. She would have liked to spend the night appreciating the art, but first they needed to find a way to grab the flash drive from behind the bar before the intended recipient arrived.

They stood at a cocktail table near a tall stone fountain, pretending to drink the glasses of champagne they’d grabbed from a passing waiter. Felicity hadn’t actually had anything to drink yet tonight, but she was still having trouble concentrating on the task at hand. Tommy in a tux was just too damn much. He was much too handsome for his own good, and, now, for her own good too because if she didn’t stop trying to sneak looks at Tommy she was going to miss the woman making the drop. 

“There,” Tommy suddenly whispered in her ear, and damn if that was distracting as hell, too. Felicity looked to where his eyes were focused, noticing the woman slide behind the bar. They left their drinks behind, weaving their way through the crowd to find a spot near the bar. 

They’d gotten lucky tonight since the bartender was a woman, and the way her eyes lit up when she saw Tommy was very encouraging, since he would need to create a distraction and, yep, it definitely already seemed to be working. 

Felicity held back while Tommy charmed the bartender, coming around the side of the bar slowly and waiting until woman they’d been tailing had finished placing the flash drive behind the bar. Felicity watched her make her way back into the gallery and counted to ten before deliberately making a sudden turn into a man passing by carrying two glasses of champagne. Her actions forced him to spill a little onto her dress, and when he quickly went to apologize, she brushed off his fussing with a smile and turned to the side of the bar to grab some napkins.

She pretended to focus intensely on dabbing the spill off of her dress, making quick eye contact with Tommy before he grabbed a napkin and a pen to write his number down for the bartender. He brushed his hand along hers, slowly sliding the napkin into her fingers and Felicity used the distraction as an opportunity to reach behind the bar and grab the drive. She had a heart stopping moment when she thought it wasn’t there, but she quickly re-adjusted her position and found it just before the bartender turned back around.

Felicity turned quickly, covering up the motion of tucking it into her strapless bra by making a flourish of one final dab to her dress. Her eyes scanned the yard, trying to make out any bodyguards or general thugs for hire that might be lurking about, but luckily it didn’t seem that anyone had noticed anything out of the ordinary.

She walked back through the gallery as briskly as she thought she could without arousing any suspicion and stood near the front door, pretending to admire some of the western paintings while waiting for Tommy. 

He sidled up to her just a moment later, sliding a glass of champagne into her hand and searching her eyes for confirmation that everything had gone according to plan.

He gave her a relieved smile and held his glass up to hers to clink in celebration. 

“Good work, you,” he said with a proud smile.

“Oh, I think this time it was mostly you. The old Tommy Merlyn charm wins again. Congratulations on your, y’know, everything, by the way,” she said with a teasing smile.

He tipped his glass back, the bubbles fizzing down his throat and then he watched as Felicity finished off her own champagne, her delicate throat working as she swallowed. He allowed himself that moment to watch her, just really appreciate her beauty and her kindness and her strength. The slight buzz from the champagne and the bourbon he’d had earlier at the bar was starting to warm his blood, a slow thrum through his system. 

The adrenaline rush of getting a job done without a hitch was still going strong too, and the heady cocktail was making him feel restless.

“Come on, Smoaky,” he said with a wink. “Let’s get out of here. Why don’t we see what sort of nightlife Santa Fe has to offer us?”

They’d walked up the street, enjoying the feeling of a job well done and the soft glow of the town at night under the full moon. Tommy had traveled extensively through Europe growing up, and this was the most European-looking city that he’d ever seen in America. The ancient adobe buildings blending with the grand stone facade of the cathedral that stood in the distance.

Felicity paused to admire some hollyhocks blooming, their white petals glowing in the moonlight, and Tommy stopped just a few steps ahead of her when he noticed she was no longer by his side. Her hair framed her face like a halo, lit from behind by a nearby streetlight. She looked ethereal -- it literally took his breath away. The bells of the cathedral started to ring, chiming for 10 o’clock and it reminded him to breath again. 

She smiled up at him, delighted by the sound, and he had to shake himself from his reverie still in awe of the fact that this person had come to mean so much to him. She was completely unexpected. He saw her shiver slightly from the cool night air, and before he even registered what he was doing, he was sliding his jacket off his arms and onto her shoulders. 

“Thank you, sir,” she said with a mock curtsy. “I guess we should consider those bells our warning sign. They’ll be figuring out that the data is missing now. Should we go to the hotel to lay low?”

Tommy took a moment to think about it, and while it might be the most prudent thing to do, he was feeling a little reckless.

“Nah, I think we’ll be fine. Let’s just go find a crowd to blend in to,” he replied, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the street towards the cathedral as the last chime of the bells rang out.

“Ok, but want to find a quiet place to plug it into my tablet, just to check that we have everything we need and send the data back to the system at home.”

With that settled, they walked hand in hand until suddenly the skies opened up, a light drizzle enveloping them in a warm haze. They began running up the street, trying to find the nearest shelter. 

As they neared the cathedral, Tommy slowed so he could look up, absolutely mesmerized by the sight of the formidable structure. He wasn’t Catholic, but they sure did some things right. The sight before him was beautiful and it made him feel like this night held some strange magic. He could see the raindrops glistening off the blue juniper berries that bordered the church and it seemed like every single sense was alive and tingling with energy. 

He reached out again for Felicity’s hand, enchanted by the pink that now tinged her cheeks from running, and he gathered her briefly to him before pulling her down a side street that led towards the plaza. The sidewalk along Palace Avenue was covered by overhanging porches; a convenient shelter from the storm. 

They crossed the street and were finally free from the rain, thankfully not soaked through but maybe a little damper than they might have liked. They walked huddled close together for warmth until they reached a door that lead to an inside courtyard, like an entrance to some secret garden. 

The rain seemed to have gone just as quickly as it came, and they walked through the passageway to the area inside that was surrounded by thick, old adobe walls. There were shops all along the sides of the courtyard and in the center were tables for diners from a nearby restaurant. More hollyhocks grew in here, and Felicity bent to brush her finger on a raindrop suspended on one bright pink petal. 

_God, what am I doing, what are WE doing?_ Tommy thought, watching her intently. _At what point did Felicity become the most important person in my life? When had she become, just, everything?_

“Oooh, Tommy, look at all the shops!” Felicity exclaimed happily, walking to the left side of the courtyard to peek into windows filled with gorgeous ephemera and some of the most artistic chocolates either of them had ever seen. His heart squeezed in his chest, marvelling at how someone who had gone through so much could still take such delight in such little things. Seeing beauty in everything. And everyone. Even, somehow, him.

“Todos Santos,” she read from the shop sign above them. “Remember that, Merlyn, because we are definitely stopping back here tomorrow on our way out of town. Little chocolate skeletons? That is definitely something we all need in our lives.”

Her joy was infectious, and Tommy felt like the muscles in his cheeks were getting sore from smiling all the time. When had he last felt that light? That happy?

He watched her gaze through the windows some more, before softly tugging on her hand and leading her towards the bustling restaurant at the other end of the courtyard.

“I promise we’ll come back tomorrow, Smoak, but tonight we’re celebrating. Let’s sneak inside here, grab a drink at the bar and you can find a quiet place to work your magic.”

They found a quiet table near the back of the restaurant’s bar, where they sat perched on upholstered stools. Felicity was able to angle her back into the corner so that she could use her tablet without anyone being able to see the screen. 

It only took her a few minutes to open up all the data and send it securely to the computers back in Starling City. She texted Oliver and Diggle to let them know they’d completed the job and the information had been sent, and then they had the night to themselves.

The crowd around the restaurant and bar was thick enough that Tommy felt they were reasonably safe staying out. He nursed a glass of bourbon while Felicity sipped her glass of red wine. The candle light lit up her face and something tugged low at his belly, something like want and happiness and relief at finally recognizing what this was and how maybe they’d been traveling down this path all along.

They ordered some food to share, green chile tamales and apple empanadas, and as they laughed and shared stories from their lives before they knew each other -- Tommy’s time learning to cook and playing in the garden as a boy since he was virtually raised by the household help, and Felicity’s adventures in the desert, riding her bike over the mesa and reading inside when it got too hot -- Tommy felt an unbelievable calm come over him. This, right here? This was real. This was as real of a real life as he’d ever had. Sure, he’d gone through hell when he lost his mom and his dad had disappeared, too. And then Oliver. But he had gotten Oliver back, and everything else that came after hadn’t been easy, but it had led him here. To her. 

They each had one more drink before deciding to call it a night and head back to their hotel. The crowd at the bar was thinning and when they stepped out onto the sidewalk, the air still smelled deliciously crisp and clean from the rain, the scent of wet earth feeling like a new beginning. 

They walked the two blocks to the plaza and crossed the street to the brick walkway under the Palace of the Governors, when suddenly Tommy grabbed Felicity’s hand, lacing her fingers with his. She smiled up at him, surprised, and he just felt so much happiness it was bubbling over and he was loose enough from the liquor in his system to finally do something about it.

“Felicity,” he said, looking down into her eyes and searching for something. What he saw there gave him strength he didn’t know he had. Made him believe for one mad moment that she felt it too and he could actually have this.

“Tommy,” she said back to him, half a question and half a reply, and when her eyes flicked to his lips, he licked them in response and before he even really knew he was doing it, he was lowering his mouth to hers, pressing his lips softly to her own. He heard her breath catch, and uncertainly grabbed him, but then suddenly she was opening up to him, licking his lower lip and he swept his tongue into her mouth, sudden heat filling his chest and squeezing his heart. 

His hands had come up to cradle her head, his fingers threading through her hair, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, pushing herself up on her tip toes to reach him and deepen the kiss. She nipped on his lower lip before peppering kisses along his jaw, gasping for breath before sucking on his neck, and the thought of her marking him, claiming him, had him instantly hard inside his pants. 

He knew she could feel it and she rubbed her hands down his back, traveling low to grab his ass and grind him into her. “Fuck, Lis,” he groaned, grabbing her mouth in another kiss and losing himself to the sensation of her again.

He took two steps, pressing her into the ancient adobe wall, and she took advantage of his strength holding her up to pull one leg up to wrap around his hip. They stood like that, locked together and rocking into each other while making out like teenagers, for a long, long time. 

Everything about this night, about this place, felt like it was somehow outside of time. God, how he hoped whatever strange spell they were under wouldn’t be broken in the morning. Feeling unsure about the future but completely certain of the woman in front of him, Tommy tried to reign in his hormones and the blood pumping quick and hot through his veins and he took a minute step back to look at her. 

Her lips were swollen from kissing and her eyes wide and bright in the moonlight. He wanted to commit this moment to memory, because no matter what happened afterwards, in the morning or when they returned home, for this moment she was his. And he was undeniably hers. 

He wanted her to know that he was sure. That she was it for him. He stood there, just gazing at her, his fingers still loose in her hair and his thumb stroking her cheekbone, and when she huffed out a laugh, her lips quirking to the side in uncertainty and perhaps even embarrassment, he knew he could have none of that. He bent his knees low so that he was eye level with her, imploring her to look at him. 

“Hey,” he said, quiet and low, “it’s ok. Whatever you’re thinking, whatever you’re feeling, it’s ok.”

She smiled up at him and he felt that clenching in his heart again. “I was just thinking that I’m really really happy.”

“Yeah?” he asked, hopeful and uncertain in a way that made Felicity able to see that scared little boy that he must have been after his mother had died and his father had just up and left. How she wished she could protect him, travel back in time and make all the pain go away. But she knew that the pain was what made them the same. Was what made her feel like they were kindred souls. 

But in that moment it was also his gorgeous blue eyes, shining with hope and something she was afraid to put a name to just yet, and the heat that still radiated between them, electric and practically crackling in the cool night air, that made her slide her hands along the delicious scruff on his face before pulling him in for one more kiss before whispering against his lips, “Tommy, take me back to the hotel.”

He didn’t need to be asked twice.

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments and kudos and feedback. It makes me write much faster. :)
> 
> Oh, and if you're on tumblr, come say "hi" -- I'm "sorrywhatever" as well as "fyeahcolindonnell"


End file.
